Sex banned from Pasco swingers club | News

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Port Richey, Florida - Club Elite at 9721 U.S. Highway 19 in Port Richey is being forced to change the way it operates by July 22.

The swingers club opened back in 2007. While the owners can continue to operate a bar at the location, they cannot market the business to swingers.

Pasco County officials filed a lawsuit against Club Elite in 2009 regarding zoning issues. Angela and Eric Kubb, WJ Investments and S & G Investments were named as defendants in the lawsuit but the county agreed to drop the lawsuit if owners would stop allowing sex in the facility.

Kristi Wooden is the Senior Assistant County Attorney for Pasco County. She says county commissioners approved the agreement on Tuesday morning.

Wooden says, "The county commissioners made a policy decision several years ago that these sorts of adult oriented businesses didn't belong in commercial areas - only industrial areas. While we have a lot grandfathered in the board felt strongly that we didn't need to have a new one in the commercial district."

From the very beginning, neighbors protested Club Elite and even circulated a petition to try to get rid of it.

According to the agreement, the owners of Club Elite must remove all the small rooms that have been constructed inside the club. They must remove all mattresses, sheets and pillows from the property too.

The sheriff's office sent in four undercover officers over a period of six months to check out the club before the lawsuit was filed. Doll adds, "A number of officers, both male and female, did go into the club numerous times and they did observe sex acts."

In an explicit 15-page report, undercover detectives outlined what they saw inside the club. They talked with a patron about "one big orgy" that allegedly happened in December that involved about 280 people. They talk about a female dressed only in "black thong underwear." The detective says there was a man striking the woman with a leather whip who "appeared to be enjoying the activity she was involved in."

On another occasion, a detective describes seeing "a male lying on his back and a female lying on top of him facing the other direction." During one visit, a detective paid $100 for a membership to the club, plus $70 for admission as a single male.

The detectives also talk about rooms where they were able to watch couples having sex. Detectives say they didn't see any drug use or find any violations of the liquor law.

Attorney, Luke Lirot represented Club Elite. He said it all came down to definition. He claims the club is not an adult entertainment business as it's defined in the ordinance.

Lirot says, "A lot of people don't like the idea. They don't like the concept - the sexual nature of whatever may be going on there is problematic to a lot of folks. But unless they have some tangible evidence that it increases crime or there's some tangible impact on property values then, from a zoning standpoint, this business has no problems whatsoever."